


The Boy Who Leapt Through Time

by themultifandomnerd



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, Gen, Just enjoy the ride, More tags will be added in the future... probably, Murder Mystery, Time Travel, Time Travel Murder Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 01:23:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14801684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themultifandomnerd/pseuds/themultifandomnerd
Summary: "That's it then.Keep him alive, try to figure out who killed him and get them arrested, change the future.Easy."When Tsukishima Kei finds himself flung back in time to his first year of high school at Karasuno High School, he decides to take fate into his own hands and rewrite the sins of the past by preventing the death of one of his fellow teammates.Now if only itwerethat easy.





	The Boy Who Leapt Through Time

**Author's Note:**

> First up, I gotta thank my homie for beta reading this and encouraging me to actually get into gear and write this in the first place after I came up with literally back in high school and now I'm like.... it's time. 
> 
> And lemme tell you, it's literally time. (Funny enough, the title I chose was originally just a placeholder but it grew on me as I was writing chapter one sooooo.... it stays.)
> 
> My friend's account here on ao3 is ColourlessZero, so i recommend checking them out. Their writing ranges from god tier crackfics to things that make you go '........ have you heard of this little thing I call... 'chill'? because you need to get some'.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated~

“Kei.”

 

“.....”

 

“Keeeei.”

 

“MMMMH.”

 

“C’mon, Kei, wake up!”

 

“MMMMMMMH!” Tsukishima Kei growled incoherently at his elder brother.

 

Akiteru only snickered as he continued to shake at Kei’s shoulder. “Come ooon, baby brother. It’s time for you to awaken and arise to your destiny! I can’t understand mumble so you have to get up and say it.”

 

Sluggishly, Kei glared with his golden brown eyes as sharply as he could. “Get out. Of my room.” And with that, he collapsed his head back down onto his pillow, hoping that would be enough to send his brother scurrying out. Kei had arrived home last night and Akiteru had already been there waiting with their parents. Admittedly, Kei was excited to see a face of such familiarity when he was tired from the train ride from Tokyo. But now he was about ready to head back to the station and deal with his already annoying roommates all over again.

 

Unsurprisingly, Kei felt his body being turned around and he scowled at the smile shining down on him. “As if I’m going to just ignore the fact today is officially the start of my precious baby brother being back home for Golden Week.”

 

Kei pursed his lips in irritation, but he knew there was no way he was going back to sleep. “This is not something to wake me up over.” But instead of snuggling back into his pillow, Kei grabbed his glasses and let the world shift gently from general fuzziness to clarity. His brother’s face being the clearest. He wanted to claw that smile off his face. “Is there breakfast out because if you woke me up without any kind of peace offering, I’m going to spike your tea with laxatives.”

 

“You wouldn’t!”

 

“Wouldn’t I?”

 

‘Touche’, Akiteru’s face seemed to say. “.....” With a well-placed squint, Akiteru opened his mouth again. “Tadashi called not too long ago, he said you weren’t answering his calls. I was just checking on you. Apparently you and your old high school buddies were supposed to do something before you headed back over to Tokyo again.”

 

Yamaguchi Tadashi, his childhood friend from elementary school. Kei felt a sudden spike of irritation at the name. _Why did I even tell him I was coming back. I should have stayed home._ ”My phone was on silent.” Kei grumbled eventually, picking up his phone to see several missed calls and several unanswered messages from Yamaguchi himself and a couple other Karasuno alumni whose numbers he had kept in his phone though he rarely communicated with them.

 

High school.

 

A time in his life he would really rather forget.

 

“Well get to answering him before your friends decide to come over personally and pull you out of bed themselves.” Akiteru replied, seeming unfazed by his brother’s earlier threats. “There’s breakfast in the fridge for you, just heat it up.”

 

“Fine.” Kei was barely listening as he went through the messages he received.

 

 **Yamaguchi**  
Tsukki you’ve arrived from Tokyo, right?

 

 **Yamaguchi**  
Since there’s a lot of us back in torono, we were all thinking about meeting up

 

 **Yamaguchi**  
Tsukki??? Do you still want to meet up?

 

 **Bakanata**  
Hey tsukishima! Get you’re lazy butt up so we can see each other!

 

 _…… You used the wrong form of ‘your’, dumbass._ Tsukishima’s fingers tightened around his phone. “....”

 

“...... Kei.”

 

Kei looked up from his phone and carelessly tossed it to the foot of his bed, partially hoping it would fall onto the floor in break. His irritation only seemed to increase when it didn’t. “What?”

 

Akiteru only smiled back gently at the snappy tone of voice. “You should see your friends. They missed having you around, you know? Tokyo isn’t exactly an every day visit.” Kei averted his gaze instead, finding his old dinosaur figurines of more interest. “They want to visit him. Your old senpai.”

 

“I know what they’re trying to do.” Kei finally snapped back at him. “Yamaguchi’s been talking about it since last month.”

 

“Oh. You already knew. Even better. Then you should get ready to head out.” Akiteru patted his shoulder. “It’s getting close to that time now, so you should get the visit out of the way and pay your respects.”

 

Kei shrugged his hand off. “Sure.”

 

Akiteru finally stood up and headed towards the door before pausing. “And Kei?”

 

“....... What now?”

 

“Try not to be too hard on Yamaguchi?” Akiteru’s voice was kind and warm, the same tone of voice he always had for as long as Kei could remember. Even back when things were awkward thanks to their old falling out when Kei found out that his brother had been lying to him for years about the placement of his team. “He worries about you shutting everyone out.”

 

 _Maybe I want to shut everyone out._ Kei stayed silent and his brother finally left the room, shutting the door behind him.  He looked to his phone and decided to send Yamaguchi a message, any message, just to prevent an onslaught of calls later. Or worse, the old Karasuno Volleyball Team coming all the way to his home to drag him out like his brother jokingly predicted.

 

 **Me**  
I’m awake now. Phone was on silent. Where are we meeting up?

 

It only took a minute for a response.

 

 **Yamaguchi**  
Great! We’re meeting at Ukai’s store! It’s still in business, isn’t that cool?

 

 **Me**  
Tell your boyfriend that he doesn’t know how to spell. It’s ‘your’ not ‘you’re’.

 

And with that, Kei set his phone on his pillow with the screen hidden. He didn’t want to see another text message until he was finally heading out.

 

 _Welcome back to Torono Town._ Kei thought sarcastically. _I’m so happy to be home._

 

**[';']**

 

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi’s eyes were bright when Kei finally came into his line of sight. Hinata was leaning over his shoulder, staring at his phone grumpily until he finally caught sight of the tall blond and pointed it out to the still taller Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi sprinted over with a hand extended for a high five.

 

Kei reluctantly gave him one. His brother’s voice echoing in his head. Go easy on Yamaguchi, he said. “I see Hinata’s still the short one between the two of you.” He sneered with a sadistic grin, seeing Hinata’s face turn into an angry expression.

 

“I am still growing, jerk!”

 

“You? Growing? Really?”

 

“Why you-”

 

“Pff!” Yamaguchi ended up releasing a laugh. “Shoyou, he’s just teasing. You haven’t changed at all.”

 

“Neither has your boyfriend’s height.”

 

“Dude!”

 

“Leave Shoyou alone, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi gave him a light shove. “He’s grown a bit.” Not by much. But a bit. The day Kei admitted that was the day he was either dead or drunk. He planned on doing neither any time soon. “I’m glad you’re back!”

 

Then like roaches spooked by the light, a good portion of Karasuno’s former volleyball team came flooding out of Ukai’s shop.

 

“Tsukki, you made it!” Nishinoya was sprinting ahead of the pack, Tanaka not far behind. “We thought we were gonna have to go over and drag your sorry ass out of bed!”

 

If they were trying to hug him, it was not happening. Kei stepped out of the way before the Idiot Duo could reach him, ignoring the yelps of indignation. ‘So cold!’ _I’ve always been cold._ Kei looked to see who else had allegedly popped up for this occasion. Kageyama, Yachi, Shimizu, Kinoshita, and of course… Ukai Keishin himself who eventually walked out of the store’s doors. “Nice to see our favorite middle blocker finally show up.” The man grinned. He had grown peach fuzz in the year Tsukki had been in Tokyo. It was weird to see him with it.

 

“It’s nice to see you again, Tsukishima-kun.” Well well even Ittetsu Takeda arrived, the same smile Kei remembered plastered on his face. “We were just talking about you. Tanaka was just suggesting he go and get you himself.”

 

 _I knew it._ Kei waved to be polite. “Hello. It was a late train ride so I wanted to sleep in.” Not that he really got to in the end thanks to Akiteru. _Maybe I do need to spike his tea with laxatives before I leave._ Kei snickered evilly in his mind. The thought of buying some laxatives later would keep him sane.

 

It would just be a few hours.

 

 _A few hours._ Kei reminded himself. _A few hours and I’m out of here and I don’t have to hear about this for the rest of the week._ Kei could survive a few hours. “Is anyone else coming?”

 

Shimizu shook her head. “Everyone else had things to do.”

 

 _Smart move._ Kei didn’t want to be here himself

 

“But we’re waiting a while before we go.” Yachi chirped nervously. Kei had never really gotten close to either of the managers they had when he was still on the team. Yachi least of all. She was really only ever close to Hinata and Kageyama from what he can recall. “We’re hoping one of them might show up.”

 

If they’re truly smart, they wouldn’t.

 

“Ah.”

 

“We’re just gonna talk for awhile and maybe eat? Like an hour at most.” Yamaguchi said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

 

“I don’t care either way.”

 

There was a pause before Yamaguchi piped up again before the tensity in the air could increase. “Ukai made his famous meat buns! I had to fight a few hands off for you to save a few for you though.”

 

“Tsukishima doesn’t even like meat buns that much!” Tanaka shouted indignantly. “It wouldn’t have hurt anyone if he only had two left! Tsukishima, share!”

 

Nishinoya was practically drooling as he nodded in agreement. “Share with me too!”

 

“Me three!”

 

“Ahh. I think I’m hungry enough to eat them all by myself.” Tsukishima glanced away uncaringly, making his way to where Yamaguchi leading him. “Definitely not going to be able share with anyone else. Unless they want crumbs.”

 

What followed the enraged gasps were laughter.

 

“How are you even friends with this monster.” Hinata sniffled and Yamaguchi only laughed. More like how on earth was Yamaguchi dating Hinata of all people? It came, seemingly, out of nowhere when they were back in high school after the incident. Slowly but surely, Yamaguchi and Hinata started hanging around each other. The next thing Kei knows, he’s accidentally stumbling into the two of them kissing in secret before class started.

 

That was not a fun day for either of them.

 

“He’s not a monster, Shoyou. He just likes making everyone laugh.”

 

“He only likes to laugh at our pain.” Nishinoya sniffled mockingly, a hand on his chest as if he were injured.

 

Kei shrugged, munching on a pork bun. “Wow, this tastes amazing. If only I weren’t so hungry, then I’d be able to share them all.”

 

“Tadashi!” But Yamaguchi only snickered and Hinata decided to try and find solace with non-traitors like Kinoshita and Kageyama. “My boyfriend is friends with a monster. I knew it was so since our first year, but now… now it just hurts even more.” If Kei hadn’t been so determined to keep his nonchalant expression, he would have snickered himself. Maybe this would be more tolerable than he thought.

 

Takeda guffawed lightly. “It’s like nothing has changed!”

 

And with that comment, it felt like a thorn had pierced Kei’s chest. Poison seeping in from the wound, souring his mood instantly. _It’s really not._ But he kept on eating, hoping that his irritation would be hidden.

 

“It’s wonderful being able to see everyone, well… mostly everyone show up after all these months. Especially you, Tsukishima-kun.”

 

“.... I was busy in Tokyo.” He grumbled. Which wasn’t entirely a lie. He was busy. Maintaining his grades and mapping out his plans for what he would be doing after university. If it meant having an excuse to not to show up to what would have to be the most depressing team reunion of the century, Kei would gladly keep himself busy.

 

Kei felt a hand brush against his side.

 

It was Yamaguchi’s, his freckled face smiling at him sympathetically.

 

Kei only felt his irritation rise even more. He bit his tongue.

 

Go easy on Yamaguchi, Akiteru said.

 

Go easy.

 

Go easy.

 

“To think that you youngsters are starting to grow up into the world.”

 

“Pff Ukai-san, you sound like an old man.” Someone snickered.

 

“You mean he isn’t already?” Kageyama deadpanned, face easily read as genuine confusion. Like he seriously thought Ukai was old.

 

The old man in question gasped in offense. “Hey hey hey, you can’t just go swinging that statement around!” Tanaka began to scold, like they were back in high school and it was just another time Tanaka would get irritated when Kageyama would accidentally disrespect somebody. “You have to respect your elder--................................................ Sorry… Ukai-san.”

 

Light-hearted roaring swept over the room as Takeda gave Ukai soothing pats though Ukai didn’t look seriously miffed. “Just like old times, indeed.” He said, scratching at his still dyed hair. “Now it’d really be like old times if everyone else would come. Have you heard anything from them?”

 

“Nothing on my end.” Kinoshita said, checking his phone once more. “Ennoshita said he’s doing something for work so he probably won’t be able to come at all. Late shift.”

 

A job.

 

Perfect reason not to come to something like this. But Kei had it easy, having his parents cover his living and university expenses. _I really should have said I wasn’t coming._ Kei set aside the last of the pork buns, appetite spoiled.

 

He should have.

 

He could have easily told Yamaguchi that he wasn’t going to come to visit a grave because he wouldn’t even be in town. Then he could have slid into Torono for the break, kept a low profile until it was time to leave, and left in the dead of the night.

 

 _That wouldn’t have worked._ Kei decided. _Mom or Dad or Akiteru would have ratted me out by accident._

 

And that definitely would have created more problems than anything. Mostly for Kei. It was bad enough dealing with everyone back in high school let alone now when it felt like he had even less energy to deal with their nonsense.

 

“.... said that he was visiting his grandma.”

 

Kei finally tuned back into the conversation, missing the name of whoever they were talking about going to visit their grandmother. Why was anyone still talking about this?

 

What was the point of _any_ of this?

 

“Tsukki? Did you say something?”

 

Kei snapped into reality again. How was he getting so distracted today? “... What now, Yamaguchi?”

 

Yamaguchi’s dark eyes glistened with worry. “I heard you say something? Are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine.” Kei grumbled.

 

“But-”

 

“I said it was nothing, Yamaguchi.” Kei was barely refraining from downright snarling.

 

Yamaguchi flinched back in surprise and Hinata’s orange head came into Kei’s peripheral. “Geez, he’s just asking to see if you’re alright! Don’t snap at him!”

 

Go easy, Akiteru said.

 

Kei just bit his tongue again and scowled to himself.

 

If Hinata was going to say anything, Yamaguchi beat him to it. “It’s fine, Shoyou. He’s just stressed out.” He said, tone light and gentle. Like he wasn’t upset when he probably was.

 

 _Don’t talk for me._ Kei bit his tongue even harder.

 

“We don’t blame you if you are, Tsukishima-kun.” Takeda said, like he was trying to placate a child in the middle of a temper tantrum. “Yamaguchi-kun is right, Hinata. This isn’t an easy time for anyone.” Here came one of his ‘brilliant’ speeches. “It’s only been a few years now, and that’s not easy for anyone when we’re a team that close. It might be easy to push through it and ignore it for most of the year, but there are times when you can’t help but think about it. So that’s why it’s so important for all of us to come together like this when we can, so we don’t have to worry about it.”

 

The sensation of the poisonous thorn in his chest only seemed to increase with each passing word that came out of Takeda’s mouth. A team? And a close team at that? _Since when were we ever a close team?_

 

Kei suddenly noticed the silence all around him.

 

Everyone was looking at him with surprised expressions. “...... What?”

 

“What did you mean by that? About us not being a close team?”

 

The light bulb went off over Kei’s head. _I said that outloud._ “I didn’t mean anything by it.” He said, hoping that they would awkwardly leap over this like they did earlier.

 

“No,” Yamaguchi pressed, his tone was no longer gentle. “what did you mean by that?”

 

Go easy, Akiteru s--

 

“It means exactly what you think it means.” Kei said smoothly, like the words were just flowing out like a stream leading into the ocean. “We stopped being a team in our first year in the volleyball club. Literally stopped being a team.” The incident happened and like that, Karasuno officially disbanded. Over a death of all things to disband over. “I’m just stating a fact.”

 

“No one wanted to quit being a team, Tsukki”

 

Kei stared back evenly at his friend, the tension in the room was rising but Kei couldn’t find it in himself to care. “Then what would you call it then? We didn’t even go to nationals. We made it that far just to quit like nothing before that ever mattered. You couldn’t even revive the club when you tried.”

 

Kei saw Yamaguchi’s eyes flash and the next thing he knew, he was right in Kei’s face.

 

“Everyone was grieving!!!” He spat. “You too! Remember?! I know you were too!”

 

“I was sad, sure. But wouldn’t giving up before the actual thing we had been working for the entire year have been pointless? You go off on me for not trying hard enough at the training camp, but the moment it’s time for everyone to put their mouths where it counts, you run off with your tails between your legs like they were never up to begin with! That’s being a hypocrite!”

 

Yamaguchi opened his mouth to retort, but Kei wasn’t finished. “You do this every year for his death and every year hardly anyone shows up. Why? Because they’re trying to move on from the equivalent of you all throwing a pity party each year! Not everyone wants to sit around collectively talking with others about how somebody isn’t coming back!”

 

“This isn’t just _anybody_!” Yamaguchi choked back. Kei could see his eyes glistening, hinting at an onslaught of tears that were threatening to well up. He felt something nasty sinking into his stomach, but he couldn’t find it in him to care. Not when it felt like at the same time something nasty was pouring out. “It’s Suga, Tsukki! It’s Sugawara!”

 

It felt strange. Hearing a name that hadn’t properly been spoken verbally in what has been year years now. It stung, almost.

 

“So what?!” Kei snapped back. “It could have been Azumane, Sawamura, it changes nothing with who dies and the crap that happened afterwards! You all want to stay here and grieve and keep living in the past and that isn’t going to bring him back!”

 

“You don’t think we know that already, Kei?! Of course we already know that! And it isn’t like we want to be stuck in the past and have pity parties!”

 

“That’s what it seems like to me!”

 

“Because you’re so used to trying to shove people out and keep everything bottled up all the time that your emotional intelligence is the size of a peanut! Why do you think I call you about this?! Because I want you to actually grieve properly instead of trying to act like you’re some animate pile of bricks!”

 

“Have you ever thought for once that maybe I didn’t want calls for suggestions to meet up with everyone!? It’s like clockwork every year that you try coddling me about something that doesn’t even affect me anymore!”

 

“Then why are you here?!?!!?”

 

Kei reached for words to bark with but he couldn’t find any as he and Yamaguchi glared at one another they’re chests heaving heavily.

 

 _Why_ am _I here?_

 

Akiteru came to mind with his ‘go easy’ talk.

 

Kei thought about the lot of messages he had been receiving.

 

Then he got a sudden flash of Sugawara grinning, probably at one of the antics the then second years and first years would get themselves into. Azumane laughing nervously while Sawamura sighed like a middle aged father.

 

…….. “You’re right. Why am I here when it’s obvious I’m not the one who needs to keep grieving about this entire thing.”

 

“Tsu-- you are! I know you are still thinking that it’s your-”

 

“I said I’m over it!” Kei snapped irritably one more time before pacing towards the store entrance. “I’m going back to Tokyo where I should have stayed.”

 

“Tsukki!”

 

Kei just brought his headphones up to his ears and pretended he couldn’t hear anything.

 

**[';']**

 

By the time Kei had reached his parents house, he had several missed calls and a few dozen or so text messages.

 

He had long since stopped listening to music. What was the point if it seemed like every song was being interrupted with call after call, message after message. Each interruption making Kei’s blood get hotter and hotter until it felt like it was boiling.

 

Akiteru was already waiting by the door.

 

Kei’s blood boiled even more to the point it felt like he was literally hearing the bubbles popping.

 

“Yamaguchi told me what happened.”

 

There was no beating around the bush.

 

“So?”

 

“Kei-”

 

“I’m not wrong either and I don’t need you trying to impart your grand sense of elder sibling wisdom on me.”

 

“I’m not trying to force my wisdom down your throat, I just want you to talk to me, Kei!”

 

“Well I don’t feel like talking.” And if the call with Yamaguchi hadn’t painted a clear enough picture, talking to Kei obviously wasn’t the best choice right now. He didn’t need to talk.

 

He didn’t _want_ to talk.

 

“I’m going back to Tokyo.”

 

“You just got back!”

 

“Tell Mom I said something came up.” Kei shouldered past Akiteru, he didn’t even care if he had just got back. It was a total mistake in coming back here in the first place. He felt in his gut when he finally agreed to go and meet up with his former teammates.

 

“Kei!” Akiteru rushed in front of him to cut him off. “Kei, _stop_. You can’t just run away from all your problems-”

 

“Well right now, you’re my problem and believe it or not, I don’t want to run away from you. I want to get past you.”

 

Akiteru looked frustrated. “You’re deflecting again. You’re always deflecting and deflecting, Kei. That’s why Yamaguchi’s worried about you so much! It hurts to lose someone that you cared about Kei, but you trying to retreat into yourself isn’t helping you move on from it. It’s making it worse and worse until it festers over and it’s toxic!”

 

“Now you’re trying to coddle me too?!”

 

“No, I’m trying to help you!”

 

“I don’t want your help! If you want to help so much then just move out of the way so I can get my things!” This was what the shit feeling in his stomach was trying to warn him about. The one thing that was festering in everyone else, not him.

 

The incident from three years ago that Yamaguchi swore that Kei was still upset about.

 

The disappearance and death of Sugawara Koushi.

 

* * *

 

 _Sugawara yawned heavily. “I wish today was the day_ everyone _had to clean up.”_

 

_Kei didn’t respond, but he agreed with his upperclassman._

 

_The cleaning schedule for the Karasuno Boys Volleyball Club was a random slot made by Takeda. Even numbered days were days the entire team had stayed behind to help one another clean up the gym, then on the odd numbered days two teammates were selected to stay behind and lock up. And guess what numbered day it was today? Odd._

 

_And much to Kei’s chagrin, he was one of the selected players to stay behind._

 

_If there was a silver lining to look for, it was probably the fact that Kei was at least stuck with one of the third years. To him, the third years were tolerable._

 

_They weren’t that annoying and they knew when to leave him alone, unlike the much rowdier second years, Tanaka and Nishinoya, and the other first years alike._

 

_Sawamura was the captain._

 

_Azumane was too fragile to really enjoy trying to tease._

 

_And then there was Sugawara._

 

_Suga wasn’t too bad. He was a bit more touchy feely than the other two third years-- three including the third year manager of the team, Shimizu. Though in Suga’s case, he was a lot more heavy-handed, and those congratulatory pats on the back felt more like a ‘Finish Him’ from Mortal Kombat. The ironic part of it all was the fact that Suga didn’t even realize how hard his pats were. Not that Kei really complained._

 

_It seemed like a mutual agreement among the team to not reveal Suga’s heavy-handedness, then it became a confirmed mutual agreement after Kageyama almost slipped up._

 

_According to the Idiot Duo, it would ‘break Suga’s heart’ to know that his version of team bonding and soothing, felt more like brutal one-hit K.Os. So Kei kept quiet about-- it though there were times where Kei’s more sadistic side pondered revealing this information to see what kind of reaction would be given._

 

_But that would just bring more drama than peace in his life because he knew without a doubt Suga would probably give the entire team a three part apology about almost killing his teammates. Kei also knew without a doubt that in that reveal, it would also probably be mentioned it was Kei who enlightened him about his hard hits. Then Kei would be stuck dealing with glares, angry yelling, and attempted spikes to the face for the rest of practice._

 

_“Well at least we’re almost done right?” Suga gave Kei a smile of relief. They were just about done with mopping the sweat off the floor then after that they just needed to put the poles up. Something they probably should’ve done after putting the net poles up since they were still placed firmly on the court. But Kei digressed. He wasn’t much of a heavy lifter, so if he could avoid picking up a pole that heavy for a good thirty minutes due to mopping-- Kei wasn’t going to complain._

 

_“Coach was pretty rough today too, but I can’t really blame him. It just feels like cleaning is taking forever; probably because I keep checking the time a--”_

 

_Kei looked at the gray-haired male beside him and wasn’t sure if he was just too tired or feeling irritated. Suga hadn’t seemed to noticed as he continued on mopping and chattering in his own little world._

 

_And he continued._

 

_And continued._

 

_And continued._

 

 _Kei wasn’t really paying attention to what had been said though he occasionally did focus on bits and pieces like ‘Hinata’s quick is at more of a 85% now’ or  ‘maybe he should find a spot to practice on Sundays to not fall behind Kageyama’. Kei pursed his lips as a single sentence formed in his head._ He talks too much.

 

_Suga blinked and looked back at Kei in surprise, “Huh?”_

 

 _Kei wasn’t sure why the other boy in the room had stopped chatting until he felt a sense of awkwardness._ I said that outloud.

 

_“I-I’m sorry--” Flustered, Suga had started apologizing immediately. “It just felt awkward because it was so quiet and--”_

 

 _“It’s fine.” Kei coughed out feeling like he was in elementary school again._ Great. _Now it really did feel awkward now that Suga had stopped talking. He was further down the gym as well, as if he felt like just standing near Kei would result in more complications. Kei suddenly wished his bluntness had a filter, or at the very least, Suga would just start talking again._

 

_That was a lot better than whatever mood Kei’s slip up left them in._

 

_The rest of the mopping had been done in silence and Kei made quick work of carrying one of the poles back to the storage room. When he walked out he saw Suga slowly making his way carrying his own, but Kei felt too awkward to offer help and just grabbed his bags by the door and waited outside. Suga was the one with the key to lock things up. He’d just stand here until he was ready to lock everything up before going their separate ways._

 

_Kei huffed a breath and looked up at the sky._

 

_There were no stars to be seen, not with the light pollution. But even with it, it was pretty dark. And late, Kei observed while he connected his headphone plug into his phone. It was 9:30 on the dot. Ukai had been a slave driver today, so there was no surprise that they were sluggish in getting the cleaning done. They took their time in the locker room, took their time eating the pork buns brought for them to eat after getting dressed, then Suga and Kei had taken their time with walking from the locker room to the gym._

 

_All around, it took them ages to actually get to the cleaning part._

 

_Kei had mixed feelings about the fact it was Saturday. Typically speaking, that meant no school the next day, no practice, and best of all no squawking from his ‘senpai’ or Hinata shrieking every time he managed to spike something. Sundays also meant that sleeping in was plausible for the week. And that was a very nice bonus considering  practice was starting to be tougher than usual._

 

_But this was the Saturday before the official start of Golden Week and what would usually be a nice week away from school?_

 

_It got turned into having volleyball practice to fill in the gap._

 

_No breaks for students on their way to nationals, the coach had said. This Sunday was going to be there only day of rest for the onslaught of training they would be doing. Slave drivers._

 

_When Kei heard a loud sigh of relief, he looked to his left to see that Suga had finally popped out of the gym, closing the door behind him, and locking it. “Finally.” Suga muttered under his breath, but then the older student turned to look at Kei apologetically. “Sorry.” He repeated._

 

_“You don’t need to say sorry so often.” Kei grumbled, pushing up his glasses. He wasn’t the best at comforting people. “That’s more annoying than you talking too much.” Kei wanted to bite his tongue. That didn’t sound the least bit comforting, let alone to one of his upperclassmen._

 

_But Suga didn’t seem to mind, “Oh, okay.” He sounded even more relieved, in fact. “That’s something I can live with.”_

 

_It was quiet again, but this time it was a silence that much more comfortable than the previous. Well, it was quiet for a few seconds._

 

_“I’ll hold onto the keys this weekend so you don’t have to worry about it, alright?” Kei nodded. He wasn’t worried. If he was, he would’ve just taken the keys himself under the guise of saying he didn’t want his upperclassmen to worry about something so trivial. Suga was responsible though, so Kei was pretty sure the key would show up again in one piece come Monday. Suga sighed again, another smile on his face-- the smiling that is. He did that a lot. “I can’t believe we’re two weeks away from nationals.”_

 

_There was a pause, but eventually Kei opened his mouth. “Yeah.”_

 

_Suga looked pleasantly surprised, “And we’ll be able to go up against Nekoma again. Let’s shoot for the top!”_

 

_Even if Kei hadn’t wanted to admit it, he was feeling excited too. The entire team was. They got passed one of the top three aces in the country, and they were going to nationals for the first time in years. It was hard to remain negative, even for Kei. And he secretly prided himself for being the person everyone could on for being cool and grumpy._

 

_He had doubts here and there, but mostly the thoughts were positive. And typically about finally being able to wipe that smug look off Kuroo’s face when all of his spikes got blocked._

 

_It would probably even top the feeling he got when he had blocked Ushiwaka._

 

_“Do you think we’ll win?” Kei staggered a bit when he heard the question. Was that supposed to be rhetorical? The answer to his own question was answered with one look at the earnest expression on Suga’s face._

 

_He was very serious._

 

_“..... Yeah, I think. Maybe” Kei said at last and Suga just laughed as he started patting Kei’s back. The blond swore he heard the sound of moveset combos being numbered in the background._

 

_“That sounds like something you’d definitely say, Tsukishima!” Suga guffawed. Kei felt like praying in gratitude to whatever deities he could think of the moment he could no longer feel Suga’s hand on his back. “Well I think we’ll win maybe too.” The third year repeated teasingly and Kei felt embarrassed for his word choice for a second. “And thanks.”_

 

_Kei blinked, “What for?”_

 

_“If it weren’t for the way you organized the blocks when we went up against Ushijima, I don’t think we’d have been able to make it to nationals.” Suga went on. “I mean, it was the entire team practicing as a whole, but that’s just how I felt. So thanks.”_

 

_Kei rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. What was he supposed to say to that?_

 

_You’re welcome?_

 

_Thankfully, Suga didn’t press him for any response. “Well we should start heading home, it’s getting late after all.” He gave a small wave, then Suga started walking away. “I’ll see you Monday.”_

 

_“Yeah…” Kei grumbled as he went to pull up one of his playlists on his phone, occasionally glancing over to where Suga was. He wasn’t walking too fast and was still within a good enough distance to catch up with in a few seconds if Kei wanted._

 

_He glanced at the clock in the corner of his phone._

 

_9:40._

 

_Kei glanced over to Suga again._

 

_Should they walk together? It seemed like the smarter option to take considering how late it was. Suga was smaller in comparison to himself, so maybe that would work to his disadvantage. Then there was the whole ‘safety in numbers’ thing his mother drilled into him and Akiteru when they were both younger…_

 

_Kei took another look at his phone then Suga again, then decided he’d be fine on his own._

 

_Suga had plenty of his share of walking home late from first year onward, and now he was a third year. So Kei was pretty sure Suga would be fine._

 

_This wasn’t the first time that Suga had walked by himself, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last._

 

_….._

 

_That’s what Kei had thought anyway._

 

_Then Monday came around and Suga did not._

 

_The first first feeling that came to Kei’s mind was annoyance._

 

_Thanks to Suga not showing up, they all had to wait until someone got the spare keys from Takeda in order to get inside the gym and get the equipment set up. The next thing that came to mind was wishing he had the power of precognition. Because if he had known that Suga wouldn’t have shown up on Monday, he would have suggested taking the keys instead._

 

_And Sugawara was definitely getting docked from the responsible list._

 

_Sawamura had been sending out many texts and phone calls to check-in on his vice captain who hadn’t even sent him a text to say that he wasn’t going to show up for practice. And by the end of the day, there was still no message._

 

His phone had either be dead with his phone charger missing like the Noya said. _Kei thought irritated, when he had a moment to think during a brief water break between drills._

 

_There was missing a text, then there was deliberately not answering._

 

_And taking into account the fact that nationals were still roughly two weeks away, it didn’t settle well with Kei at all._

 

_As nice as the guy could be, Kei didn’t have much of a connection with the gray-haired setter. He was too nice. So nice it was unsettling._

 

_There was no way someone could be that kind, at least not without some type of vice or sacrifice. (Maybe that’s why his hair was gray? Was it the stress of being too nice to people?) So he wouldn’t try to cover up this example of pure misconduct with sickness or a dead phone like Tanaka and Nishinoya had. If he woke up today with the sinking feeling he wasn’t going to be making it, he should have sent a message so everyone would know. Suga was being irresponsible and he’d definitely find a way to slyly voice his opinion on Tuesday when Suga made a reappearance._

 

_So Tuesday came._

 

_Then Wednesday._

 

_Thursday,_

 

_Friday,_

 

_Then it was Saturday._

 

_Then Golden Week had ended and school began._

 

_And Suga?_

 

_There was no trace of him. Not at school, not at practice, and not even a text to say ‘Hey, I’m alright!’ And eventually calls just went straight to voicemail, as if his phone had been turned off._

 

_Then came the gossip around the halls about a third year in the boys volleyball club going missing._

 

_Some people had even joked around that maybe that third year was in a ditch somewhere._

 

_And miraculously? Kei hadn’t thought things like that himself. He wasn’t sure why he had been more optimistic than not about the entire ordeal._

 

_Maybe it was the spirits of his teammates? (Definitely not that. The corniest answer is never the right answer. At least, not with Kei.)_

 

_Maybe it was the reassurance his parents and teachers gave him after the parental notices had been sent out to everyone’s guardians._

 

_That a high school boy had gone missing and to keep a tighter curfew on the children until he had been found, but more than likely, this student was fine since he had a good head on his shoulders and his wits were always about him. Picturing Suga as dead, even without knowing him well, didn’t seem plausible. So Kei was more apt to just find comfort in what his mother had told him and forget the creeping thoughts tempting to submerge from the depths of his subconscious._

 

_Why didn’t I walk him home?_

 

_Did something happen to him on his walk and that’s why he’s missing?_

 

_Would he still be in school right now if I had walked him home?_

 

_Then he’d remember his mother’s sweet voice and her hand softly caressing his head. “Your senpai is probably just avoiding his parents. He’s a third year, right? Maybe he’s been worried about his grades or fighting about his career options so he decided to go somewhere else for a while. Like a family friend or aunt.”_

 

_That totally sounds like something Suga would do when his mother said it like that, Kei thought._

 

_So that had to be it, just like his mother had said._

 

_Suga was just hiding from his parents because they probably had some fight. Maybe Suga had wanted to go to a university abroad or in Tokyo and he was mad his family didn’t want to pay for it so he was lashing out uncharacteristically. Or maybe it was a trait of his but it was just hard being the immature one when there were others around him far more immature than him._

 

_Then finally…._

 

_there was something._

 

 _“Everyone,” Ukai voice rang out clearly against the sound of young voices counting down numbers and moving around the gym. “stop warming up! I--” the blond man cut himself off and looked at Takeda with a grim expression. “_ We _have to make an announcement.”_

 

_Sneakers skidded across the polished wooden floors as everyone came to a halt in their activities._

 

_Eyes were widening in anticipation._

 

_There were a few murmurs here and there, but nothing too coherent for Kei to understand. Practice had just barely started._

 

_Ukai and Takeda had yet to arrive while everyone else had changed in the locker rooms, quickly transitioning into the process of setting up everything for practice with the help of the team managers before starting the senseless drills Ukai had been making them do as of late. Kei couldn’t really say he liked the drills, but the sensation of his groove being thrown off before it could properly begin was something more agitating._

 

_“Do you think it’s about Sugawara-san?” Yamaguchi whispered as they made their way to sit where the the two adults were._

 

_Kei only shrugged._

 

_“What is it, Coach?” Shoyou asked the question that was probably racking everyone’s minds. “Is it… is it about Sugawara-san?”_

 

_The murmuring erupted into full out talking, “Did they find him?!”_

 

_“Is he alright?!”_

 

_“Where was he?!”_

 

 _Finally, Sawamura had raised his hands in an attempt to bring some sort of calm among the underclassmen. “Now, now, we don’t even know if it’s about Suga in the first place guys.” Kei was sure that it took Sawamura a lot to say that instead of joining in with the rest of them. If anything, it was the third year students that were worried the most. “_ Is _it about Suga?” Daichi relented, eyes glinting hopefully and doubtfully at the same time._

 

_Ukai and Takeda shared another look. “Yes.” Takeda answered, tone cautious. “It’s about Sugawara-kun, but… I wouldn’t say that…” he stopped talking and didn’t continue, looking at his hands. Ukai gave a brusque sigh and clasped a hand on the club advisor’s shoulder for a few seconds before he crossed his arms, breathing in deeply and slowly._

 

_“Yesterday.” Ukai pursed his lips as if he were unsure of how to say this. “Yesterday--” Ukai licked his lips and Kei noted that they looked a little chapped before the man started talking again. “Yesterday on the ninth they found Sugawara in the Sanzu River over in Zao, the Katta District.”_

 

_There was an ominous feeling that swept over Kei’s body as he could hear Tanaka asking nervously, “Well was Suga-san okay?”_

 

_Ukai took another deep breath and his eyes looked wet. “The police said that, from the amount of decay on the body, it must have been sometime during the Golden Week break.”_

 

_Kei felt his blood run cold._

 

_“D-decay?” Kei was certain that the stutter came from Nishinoya. “But that doesn’t-- Suga-san’s okay right?” The normally confident second year sounded panicked. “Suga-san’s gonna be okay right? By the time we go to nationals? It’s just a scratch, right?!”_

 

_Kei almost wanted to snap and call him an idiot; that it was obvious what Ukai  was trying to tell them without actually saying it. But he couldn’t._

 

_“He-- I’m really sorry, Nishinoya-kun. Everyone.” Takeda finally spoke up again, voice choking. “The funeral is going to be on the twentieth.”_

 

_There was a loud gasp that had came from Yachi who covered her mouth in shock, immediately._

 

_Pause._

 

_Then the noise finally started._

 

_“You mean, Sugawara-san is really--?!” Hinata_

 

_“What the hell happened to him, Coach?!”_

 

_Amongst the chaos, only one thought seemed to be echoing in Kei’s mind._

 

Why didn't I walk him home that night?

 

* * *

 

10 missed calls, 15 messages.

 

Kei scowled at his phone before turning it off again.

 

Would it be a pain having to let his irritation levels lower without his music playing? Yes. But it would better than having to deal with the call and text notifications again.

 

He was at the train station now, thankfully. It wouldn’t take much longer now until he was finally on the train and going back to Tokyo where everything made sense and wasn’t full of emotional classmates of the past.

 

_“Then why are you here?!”_

 

Yamaguchi’s voice and face drifted through Kei’s mind and he felt like throwing his phone onto the train tracks and waiting for it to be trampled over violently.

 

But he didn’t, if only for the satisfaction of knowing he was the only one keeping a cool head around here.

 

He escaped the collective grieving of former Karasuno students and he managed to get pass his older brother’s unnecessary lecturing. Kei felt a little bad he left without giving his mother or father, who were out shopping for an upcoming baby shower, a second’s notice. But Akiteru would relay a message kind enough for them to hear and Kei would talk to them himself earlier.

 

Something came up, he would say.

 

And nothing relating to the heaping emotional mess his former teammates were right now. Getting offended by his truths.

 

They weren’t a close team.

 

They weren’t trying to move on.

 

This was just their dumb way of trying to make amends for what happened after everyone found out Suga had died.

 

The volleyball club had shut down. Literally and metaphorically. The urge to not play transferred into the will to even go to nationals. So they dropped out of the running and became shells of whatever you would call the kind of team they had before. (And Kei certainly wouldn’t say they were strong and close with a reaction like that.)

 

Nekoma won that year.

 

Kei couldn’t remember much about the funeral, it went like a blur.

 

There was crying, lots of crying.

 

Kei could distinctly remember seeing Suga’s father who had become completely undone, loudly sobbing like a child. “Someone did this to my son!” He cried out, until someone eventually had to pull him out of the room. If Kei remembered correctly, Azumane ended up having to leave too. He couldn’t remember what happened with Sawamura.

 

Suga’s mother had a much quieter reaction compared to her husband. He eyes were dark and baggy and pink, as if she had no tears left to cry.  Kei could definitely remember another thing as well, the shagginess of her appearance aside, Kei could see where Suga had gotten his looks from. If someone had cut her hair shorter and put her mole under her right eye, she could have passed for Sugawara Koushi in a heartbeat.

 

Maybe that’s what made some of the crying sounds increase in Kei’s memory.

 

Crying, crying, crying.

 

All that he could remember at that point was crying. None of the tears were from him. He felt bad sure but… he hadn’t been able to cry about it at all.

 

_Eventually, the crying had become too much before Kei had to excuse himself to the bathroom._

 

_He was gasping._

 

_It felt like he was running out air._

 

Why are funerals like this? _Kei remembers thinking._

 

_It was like you were about to be encased in a coffin yourself._

 

_Funny considering the one in the casket right now was Suga, not him. He didn’t have to think about feeling suffocated from the sadness around him and feeling like there were too many emotions in one room for him to deal with. His chest felt uncomfortable and the suit he was wearing felt too tight._

 

_He hated suits._

 

_They always felt too tight._

 

_Kei removed his glasses to splash his face with some water. Maybe that would help._

 

They found him in water. _Came a sudden thought._

 

_“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi’s voice croaked from behind him and broke Kei away from his thoughts (something he never thought he’d be happy to be distracted from). He’d been crying too. “Are you feeling alright?”_

 

_“Fine.” Kei’s throat felt tight, but he pushed the word out anyway._

 

_“Are you sure?”_

 

_No. “Yep.”_

 

_“...... I still can’t believe it.” Yamaguchi went on. “That Sugawara-senpai…..” Yamaguchi started to trail off as if he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. Like saying that Suga was dead would make all of this too real._

 

We’re at a funeral. How is this not real enough? _Kei wanted to say. “I know.”_

 

_He was the third year that the whole team seemed to have a soft spot for and if anything he was more like a parent than a teammate or upperclassmen._

 

_Maybe that’s why his kindness seemed so unrealistic? He was beyond mature for a high schooler, like he was on some entirely different level. With his wide grins, occasional comedic reactions, and admittedly the times he was able to get Kei to do something when one of the second years couldn’t made him seem more like he might as well have been one of the teachers._

 

_What gives?_

 

_“.... What do you think will happen now, Tsukki?”_

 

_….._

 

_“.... Hey, Yamaguchi.”_

 

_Yamaguchi was sniffling. “What?”_

 

_“You know what’s funny about all this?”_

 

_“..... Tsukki?” Now he sounded confused. As if Kei had gone crazy thinking there was anything amusing about this situation._

 

_“This probably wouldn’t have even happened if I had just walked him home.”_

 

Kei glared out the window he was sitting at.

 

The scenery was passing by quickly and he was too pissed to even try to appreciate it. If anything, trying to stare at it made him more irritated.

 

His thoughts were whirling.

 

This scenery was whirling.

 

The lack of chatter on the train from the silently distracted and sleepy train passengers made him irritated.

 

_Sleep._

 

_I need sleep._

 

Kei shuffled a bit in his sleep before finally laying his head back against the chair and closing his eyelids. He could just sleep and force the thoughts to stop coming.

 

It would probably be easier with his headphones on, but he wasn’t about to risk someone calling him again. So instead of trying to focus on his thoughts, Kei forced his thoughts elsewhere.

 

The sound of the train wheels thudding softly on the tracks.

 

The cool air that would seep from the bottom of the windows that sometimes irked Kei more than he bargained for but he would rather deal with an AC than not have the window seat.

 

Soft snores and buzzing.

 

Occasionally, thoughts would pop up. About Yamaguchi and Akiteru. What the said about him running away from his problems and being emotionally stunted.

 

Tiredly, Kei could feel another irritated pang echoing through him but he relaxed his brow and tried focusing on the sounds of his surroundings again.

 

 _I’m not the one who is emotionally stunted._ He thought, drowsy but indignant. _They are. They haven’t moved on from the past. I have._

 

It didn’t matter how sad everyone got.

 

It didn’t matter the guilt Kei might have felt in the past about something that was in his control, even for a moment.

 

 _You can’t change the past._ A brief recall of the photo that had been placed on Suga’s casket flashed through Kei’s mind. In it, he was smiling widely as if he had no care in the world and was in his Karasuno jacket. Probably thinking about how soon it would be they would be going back to nationals.

 

No matter how much you want to.

 

**[';']**

 

When Kei suddenly felt himself stirring, he was hit was an immediate sense of soreness all over his body. Especially his arms.

 

_What the heck happened on the train ride?_

 

Kei squeezed his eyes shut even more, trying awaken himself more.

 

Then someone started to shake at his shoulder.

 

He wasn’t going to snap at a total stranger, but god did he hate someone trying to wake him up when he was in such a deep sleep. “I’m gettin’ up.” He grumbled.

 

There was a familiar chuckle. “Tsukki, come on. We’re back at the gym now. Tanaka is _this_ close from dragging you out of your seat.”

 

“He’s right about that, Sleepyshima! Get up and get your butt in the gym so the coach can tell us some stuff! I’m ready to eat and sleep the moment I get home!”

 

Kei’s eyes shot open and there he was, staring Yamaguchi dead in the face. He was smiling down on him, like their earlier fight hadn’t taken place. In fact, it was like their entire fight hadn’t happened in the first place. “.... Yamaguchi.”

 

Said boy tilted his head a little, but his smile remained. “Come on. I already let Akiteru-kun know we’re back so he’ll be back soon to pick us up. He said he didn’t want us to walk home so late so he’s giving us bother rides.” And with that, Yamaguchi hopped off…. The bus.

 

Kei was on a bus.

 

And not just that…. Kei quickly was taking note of all the familiar faces.

 

Tanaka

 

Kageyama.

 

Shimizu.

 

Ennoshita,

 

All in their Karasuno jackets.

 

Kei looked down at his own clothes and gone were the black tshirt and blue jeans head had fallen asleep in. Hello to the Karasuno jacket and shorts he now had on instead.

 

“Don’t forget your bag, Tsukishima!” Ennoshita called out helpfully, noticing that Kei was apparently having some sort of ‘I’m now awake, gimme five minutes to fully awaken’ moment.

 

Kei instead opted for pushing past whoever was in front of him and off of the bus.

 

His muscles were yelping in agony, but that was easily drowned out by the overwhelming sense of shock Kei had staring right at the Karasuno gym. It was dark out, save for a few overhead lights shining down to illuminate the outside. But this was it.

 

“Hey, Tsukishima, you forgot your bag!” Ennoshita suddenly popped in front of him, slinging Kei’s sports bag over his shoulder. “I guess you’re just surprised the bus ride went so quick? I kept waking up a few times the entire ride, but you were out like a light. I didn’t peg you for a heavy sleeper.”

 

“....” Kei opened his mouth, then closed it.

 

_What do I say right now? Am I dreaming?_

 

Ennoshita didn’t give him a chance to say anything. “I don’t blame you for still feeling pretty tired. Don’t worry, man, we’ll all be home soon and we can sleep this all off.” Then with that, he slipped through the open doors of the gym which was shining yellow on the inside.

 

_Am I dreaming right now?_

 

Kei wearily made his way through the door and immediately had to squint from the bright lights hitting his eyes harshly.

 

He felt a bit dizzy, sick even.

 

From the sudden soreness to the brightness to having a dream as weird as this one, Kei could easily say he was feeling sick.

 

 _Wake up now, wake up now._ Kei bit the inside of his brother, rubbing at his temples. _I’d really like to wake up right now._

 

He could hear familiar murmuring, but he ignored it. It was all a dream anyway and he’d be waking up in just a few--

 

“Are you okay, Tsukishima?”

 

Kei blinked once.

 

Twice, before finally looking to his left.

 

There he stood in the flesh, big brown eyes cheerful but concerned and the same smile on his face from all those years ago.

 

“You okay?” He repeated, gray cowlick seeming to twitch.

 

“Sugawara.”

**Author's Note:**

> And with that.... I bring chapter 1 to a close. Y'all I have not touched anything haikyuu!! related in a minute so damn that was a ride, I hope I got the characters characterized well.
> 
> It took me literally all day to rewrite the junk I came up with in high school if you include looking over the old drafts of EVERYTHING. From the original 'pilot' chapter, so to speak, to the all the background information I thankfully had copy and pasted from old conversations in old drive documents. High school me was a fucking real one lmao.
> 
> So I hope the reveal in the middle of the chapter was a good one. 
> 
> Please leave comments, that's literally the best part of posting any fic! I wanna know the reactions and everything \OAO/!


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